Spring Break, Baby
by Hemel Lassie
Summary: Charlie gets an unexpected invitation to England for spring break, from a former girlfriend. The consequences will change his life forever. Alt Universe firmly. Ch 3 is up.
1. Chapter 1

Spring Break, Baby

Part One

_Charlie gets a phone call out of the blue from an old love. This will have long lasting repercussions. Settle in for quite a ride! Sylvia, May 27th 2007_

"Charlie?"

"Susan? Susan Berry? Hi, how are you?" Charlie excused himself from the student he had been confirming an appointment with.

"Well, not so well actually. I have had some rather bad news, I'm afraid."

"Something I can help you with?"

"I – I don't have a lot of time left."

Charlie was confused. The connection overseas wasn't all that good. He was having a hard time hearing and understanding his former girlfriend. "Susan, are you …well, no. You already told me you weren't too well. What is it, Susan? Can I help you with something?"

"Charlie, I know this is an awful lot to ask at such short notice, but, you are about to have spring break from Cal Sci, aren't you?"

"In two weeks. Why?"

"I'll be glad to pay for your ticket. I really need to see you in person to explain everything properly, Charles. "

"Wait. Are, are you asking me to come over there? To come to see you. Isn't that going to be a bit awkward, with your significant other and all?"

"If, at all possible, Charles. As I said, I know it isn't much notice. Let me arrange a flight for you. Please. When would you be available? And, my 'significant other' as you put it so kindly, is no longer in the picture. He turned out to be a prejudiced swine and I left him. The reason all that transpired I will explain when I see you. Charlie, don't worry. I know you are in a relationship with someone else now, but…"

More than a little mystified, but, knowing Amita was going to a conference with Dr. Finch, Charlie broke in. "Look, Susan. I am seeing Amita, but you and I…we have a strong history. You want or need me there, I am there. I didn't have anything else planned for spring break. No seminars scheduled." His brother had no time available to take off with him to do anything during the break, and his dad was working on a consulting project with Stan. The professor couldn't think of one good reason to decline. "I'll get my own flight though, Susan. You don't have to pay for it."

"I may not have to, Charlie, but, I really want to. Please, it would be your gift to me."

Charlie shook his head. "Okay, Susan, okay. Just e-mail me when you have my itinerary, will you?"

"There is a lovely inn in the village where I live, Charlie. I truly appreciate you being so gracious about this."

"Nonsense, Susan. We are still friends, right?"

"Very, very special friends." There was a slight laugh in her voice, as it sank to a throaty, suggestive whisper.

"Susan, you wicked woman, you!" Charlie laughed.

"Your passport is all current."

"Yeah, I'm ready to roll as far as that goes."

"Thank you so much for this, luv."

"It's perfectly okay, Susan."

"I'll e-mail you as soon as I have it set up, Friday afternoon two weeks from now; will that be okay for you to fly out?"

"Actually, if you could make it the evening, Don can take me to the airport and I won't have to worry about long term parking on my end."

"I'll e-mail you everything as soon as it is all set up then. Thank you again, Charlie."

"Well, I guess I'll see you soon." When she clicked off the line, Charlie looked at his cell phone thoughtfully, before he shut it and slipped it into his pocket. "That was just --- weird."

"Talking to yourself, bro?"

Charlie turned and smiled, when he saw Don leaning against his office door. "I was just musing out loud."

"Uh-huh. Problem?"

Charlie shrugged. "Not unless you consider an all expenses paid trip to England in the spring time to be a problem. "

"Yeah? Consulting on something?"

"Frankly, I don't know how to classify it. I have your data for you, Don."

Don frowned at him. "Sheesh, Charlie, I didn't figure you had time to get that done yet. I just thought you might like to go out to lunch. You can tell me about this mystery trip."

"Who's paying?"

His brother grinned at him. "Even Special Agents have expense accounts, Chuck. Where do you want to eat?"

"Your treat, you pick." Charlie shrugged. He grabbed his computer bag and hustled down the hall after his older brother.


	2. Chapter 2

Spring Break, Baby

By Hemel Lassie

_Sorry for the long break between postings, but I have had lots going on, personally, professionally and health wise. Serious stuff, fun stuff, scary stuff and well just STUFF! So, here we go. Chapter One has been revised and reposted and on with Chapter Two...Hemel Lass, May 27th 2007_

Part Two

Seated at one of the outside tables at EUROPANE, Charlie dug into his meatloaf sandwich. "This is great, Don. I was actually pretty hungry today."

"So, Susan Berry wants you to drop any thing you are doing and fly to England for spring break, eh?" Don went straight for the details.

"Really? You know just about as much as I do about this, Don. I mean that call was really from out of the blue. I haven't heard from her since about three months after she was here last. I thought she was living with someone, but she says he is 'out of the picture now' whatever that means." Charlie shrugged. "She sounded terrible though. Like she has been really sick recently or something. And she said she didn't have much time left. "The younger man's expressive face was very troubled looking.

"Charlie, don't jump to conclusions. She could have been on a cell phone that was running out of juice. Lord knows you forget to charge yours often enough."

'You think Sue wants to fly me to England because she forgets to charge her cell phone?" The professor frowned skeptically at his big brother.

"That's not what I am saying. What I am saying is that you don't know what she meant by not having much time… It could have been that she had to meet some one…or that she was about to go into a tunnel on the Motorway. I mean, don't assume too much. That is all. She obviously thinks she has two weeks plus, because she didn't ask you to fly over tomorrow. Right?" Don was really trying to pull Charlie out of what he perceived as a bit of a nose dive. "Boy, this egg salad on cranberry and walnut bread is like. Man, this is sinful it is so good. Holy… Wow! You were right, this place is great."

"Like I told you, Don. So long as you get here early in the day, when they have a good supply of everything, this place is simply amazing. Next time, we'll have the brisket sandwiches, but I just thought you had to try the one you have got."

"Yeah. Well, I can't believe I am saying this, but this could make me a convert from too much red meat. Of course, I am not sure how good for you this is, but it sure tastes fantastic. And I am having me some dessert. I don't eat like this all that often. Screw the health stuff."

Talking with his own mouth full, Charlie replied. "Surprisingly, most of the food here actually is pretty darned healthy. See, it's the way it's made. It's just made good. It isn't what you can CALL low fat, but they go light on the cream and stuff and the quality is…"

"To die for…" Don agreed. "I can't believe we never came here before."

"Well, you usually aren't this early, Don. They close at 2…or 2:30, so late is out. What do you think of the coffee?"

"I think I will never look at a Starbucks the same, my brother. This stuff is dreamy. I mean for a caffeine junky it is heaven. So, what about dessert? What do you recommend?"

"Honestly? You have to try the lemon bars. I mean don't get me wrong, every thing here is good, but try the lemon bars. Really."

"Okay. You haven't steered me wrong, yet, on this place, Chuck." The tease was intentional, but didn't even earn him a frown.

"I am not a steak or ground round, Donnie." Charlie retorted, smoothly.

"Eww. Touché. Talking to Susan a few seconds on the phone is enough to get you all calm with the snappy retort."

"Hey, she is a psychologist, you know."

"Doesn't seem to have helped you much in the past."

"You didn't' see us when we were together, brother. We were a force of nature!"

Don grinned at the remark. "Well, actually, I have heard rumors to that effect before. Frankly, even though I may not have seen you much when you were with Susan, it was clear even to me, you had something special. Certainly when she was here, what was that…two years ago now?"

Charlie frowned. "Let's see. Oh, we both want the lemon bars for dessert, Miss. Oh, hi, Amy! How are things going?"

"Professor Eppes and his dashing FBI brother…." One of Charlie's students was serving them. "Any plans for Spring Break, Professor."

"It appears I am going to England!"

"Ah, to be in England, now that Spring is there…." Amy responded.

"It's a poem, Charlie…" Don offered helpfully.

"Yeah. I got this one, brother. "Charlie retorted evenly. As he quoted from memory…

"**Whilst the Victorians were industrializing everything in sight, their poets were harking back to a gentler (and more idealistic) England of days gone by. **

**Oh, to be in England **

**Now that April's there,**

**And whoever wakes in England**

**Sees, some morning, unaware,**

**That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf**

**Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,**

**While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough **

**In England - now! **

**And after April, when May follows,**

**And the white throat builds, and all the swallows **

**Hark! Where my blossomed pear-tree in the hedge **

**Leans to the field and scatters on the clover**

**Blossoms and dewdrops - at the bent spray's edge **

**That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,**

**Lest you should think he never could recapture**

**The first fine careless rapture! **

**And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,**

**All will be gay when noontide wakes anew **

**The buttercups, the little children's dower, - **

**Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower! **

**Robert Browning (1812-1889)"**

Don's jaw dropped in startled surprise. "Wow. You sure know that one back and forth. "

"Really, England in April? It is something special, Don. I look forward to spring over there. It is going to be great!"

"What do you think Amita will think of the trip, though, Charlie? Really. Is this going to mess things up with you two?"

"I won't even get to talk to her about it before I go, Don. She's in intensive sessions with Dr. Finch and another Professor preparing her presentation for the Seminar they are attending over spring break and I really doubt I will see her at all before she leaves for that. I mean, maybe two seconds in the hall. I knew I would be on my own this break, I just didn't know where." Charlie grinned. "Besides, she trusts me and I trust her. Whatever Susan wants I don't think it is romantic in nature. You know? She sounded more like she needed to make something right. I don't know why. We didn't part on bad terms or any thing. In fact, I offered…well, to take up some of my standing invitations to lecture in England…to further explore our…um, common ground."

Don decided to play the wise older brother. "In other words, you had sex while she was in town on the book tour and it was enough to trigger old feelings."

"It wasn't crass or anything." Charlie said, defensively.

"Charlie, you are a healthy adult male for cry, aye. I never said sex with an old girlfriend was crass or anything like that. It can be a beautiful thing. But…." He looked at his younger brother's wilted expression, knowingly.

"She told me she was living with a guy. He had two kids from a previous relationship and they were pretty serious."

"Ouch. So for her, it really was nostalgia sex?"

"I don't know, Don. It hurt at the time, but now I have Amita. I'm not sorry we had that time together. It really was beautiful and romantic. I don't care what her motives were. All my feelings were still in place…it was a natural thing. Just a little embarrassing when she revealed she was in a sort of committed relationship."

"Charlie, unless she had told you that before you had sex, it isn't…look you didn't do anything wrong. She withheld information from you that might or might not have made you act differently, if you had known. That isn't a crime. It isn't even immoral. You didn't know." Don squeezed his younger brother's shoulder in empathy. "I wish you had told me what you were going through back than, Charlie. I would have been there for you."

"Yeah, like you and I discuss your sex life or relationships all that much." Charlie retorted. "Look, it was private, at least at that point…and yeah, I was a little embarrassed. I felt played. .. I was hurt. But I am over it. You know?"

Don raised his refill of the truly excellent coffee. "To old memories and new adventures?" He toasted with one eyebrow raised.

"I'll drink to that." Charlie was drinking a raspberry iced tea, but he brought the edge together with Don's coffee cup, enjoying the moment of brotherly solidarity on a lovely day in Pasadena, near the Cal Sci campus.


	3. Chapter 3

Spring Break, Baby

By Hemel Lassie

Part Three

_The team hears first word of Charlie's upcoming spring break trip and weigh in with their views. Some may argue this doesn't advance the story much, but that is the way the story told me she wanted to be written. In my house, there are two rules. Obey the Cat...and obey the Muse. SMB_

Once the brothers had enjoyed thoroughly their leisurely lunch at Europane, Charlie and Don returned to the Cal Sci campus.

Charlie had frankly been a little frustrated that Don had turned aside every effort he made during the meal and, even, the return ride to the campus to bring talk back around to the data he had compiled and organized for Don and the team.

On the brief drive back to campus, Don had remarked. "Next time we go to lunch at Europane from here, I think we will just walk…so long as it isn't raining. Speaking of rain, though, Chuck, don't forget your rain coat and umbrella when you go to England."

Charlie grinned. "They call the umbrella a 'brolly' in England. And a lot of British weathermen like to advise everyone – "Why not totally screw up our forecast, ladies and gents? Be sure to wear your Macs and/or carry your brolly and it won't rain a drip; no matter how carefully we predict the weather. Doppler's be damned!" "The latter part had been done with a very passable British accent imitation.

Don grinned. "So, in your mathematically scientific opinion, does that work?"

Charlie glanced from side to side, as if bothered to admit it, but, finally, said. "Oddly? Yes. If I have a raincoat or umbrella with me…even packed away in bag or briefcase; it never seems to rain on me when I am in England. Weird, huh?"

"Ever run the numbers on it?" When Charlie just gave him 'that look', Don grinned hugely. "Ever ask Larry to explain the science on that one?"

"I've asked several serious scientists. They've all done their own homework, their own experimentation and come back with the same results as mine, but …well, there is a reason we still talk about the 'mysteries of the universe', Don."

"Sounds like a case of, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Does it work here, you think?"

"Ah, no. Definitely doesn't work here. Although it seems to work to a degree when I am in San Francisco or northern California... Don't ask me why." Charlie shrugged and opened his classroom door. "Now can I go over the data with you?"

"Sheesh, Chuck. What's the big rush? It's a corporate fraud case that had been going on for months…no actual humans are being harmed. I wanted to prove to myself I could take my brother out to lunch without picking his brain for work purposes for a change. Turns out it's my brother who has a hard time relaxing, while he is digesting. You don't always have to talk about FBI stuff to me, kid."

"I know. I mean, I don't. When you are over at the house and we are watching a game or something…look the reason I keep coming back to the data is SOME ACTUAL HUMANS are being harmed. Poor, older and disabled citizens who can't afford to lose their Social Security checks are getting ripped off seriously by these bank officials and NO one is doing anything about it. I mean, some of these people have died, Don."

Don ripped his sunglasses off his face. "Are you serious?"

Charlie hit a button on his now open computer and a group of obituaries began to scroll across the screen, complete with pictures, obviously mostly drawn from other sources.

"Damn Chuck…I give you a molehill to dig in, you produce the freaking iceberg that sunk the Titanic! When's your next class…can we do this at the war room for the whole team?"

"I'm actually done for today. I had to give my afternoon class a day to work on their papers once I explained where their initial efforts had gone wrong. I would have told you that before we came back here, if you had given me half a chance!" Charlie was exasperated, but triumphant. "Every time I tried to tell you anything about the data…"

'I know…I know. Come on…let's head back out. So, we wasted a little time, got some extra exercise…"

"And wasted gas…don't forget the wasted gas, Don. Not just my tax dollars, but yours and Dad's plus everyone else's go to pay for that gas, don't forget."

"Yeah…well, there is that. But this is California, my brother. Wasting gas here is sort of an oxymoron, you know?"

"Doesn't make it any less moronic!" The professor retorted with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go. I can't fit the stuff I have to have with me in your Prius, you know?"

"I hear Governor Schwarzenegger is having his Humvies all converted to run off used vegetable oil, Don."

"Uh-huh. I can see me bringing up that suggestion at the next budget meeting with Merrick…as if." His older brother advised, with a poorly hidden shudder. "I don't think converting our gas guzzlers to used vegetable oil is high on the local AD's To Do, list, buddy."

"It really should be." Charlie muttered. "The money we could save and the pollution we could reduce."

Don threw his arm around his brother, impulsively. "You know, there are times when you really show you are the by-product of hippy parents, even if you came along after their hippie-dippy days."

"Yeah, so…what does that say about YOU?"

"That I am definitely a member of the Me Generation?" The FBI agent suggested with a facetious grin. "Besides, what does biodiesel smell like? Burnt vegetables?"

"Some people say the smell makes them think of French Fries."

"Oh, great…so every one in LA would be in a permanent Big Mac frenzy. That would make the healthy eaters groups go nuts." Don advised. "See, every solution can create a dozen more problems."

Charlie laughed. "Permanent Big Mac Attack. That's one worthy of Colby, Don."

Don just grinned. "Got everything you need for your show and tell at the office, Chuckie?"

"Don't CALL me that, Donald."

"Hey, I am not a duck."

"And I am not a knife-weilding doll from a horror movie."

"Nerd."

"Jock."

"Okay…let's get this show on the road, Math Man."

"Okay, G-man. Let's hit it."

Don grinned and began humming the old Batman theme from the Adam West TV series.

Charlie shook his head at his older brother's sudden playfulness. "If you think you are getting me in a pair of tights, you have another thing coming, Don." But his grin easily equaled his brother's as they headed off to take down evildoers elsewhere.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------/

During a break in the mega-marathon brainstorming session at FBI headquarters that seemed to add agency after agency to the list of those involved, Charlie was joined in the break room where he was making himself an herbal tea by Megan and David, on a quest for more info on an aside Don had tossed out about his upcoming trip.

"So, England is great this time of year." David opened the inquest.

"England's great any time of year." Megan agreed. "But, Sue Berry, again. How's Amita feel about this?"

They achieved the desired squirm factor from the younger Eppes. "Look, it isn't like that. Well," He decided to go for honest. "At least, it definitely isn't like that on my side. There is no romantic interest left there. I have Amita now…and she admitted she KNOWS that, so I am sure she doesn't have any ulterior motives in that direction. I'm kind of worried about the first thing she said."

Megan gently advised him. "Charlie, 'I don't have much time', can mean an awful lot of things and to assume only the negative ones will only make you worry needlessly."

"Yeah, man…" David suggested. "She writes books about…well, among other things, sex and pleasure and the brain, right? Maybe she is working on a book about the mind-pleasure connection and she wants to pick that fabulous brain of yours about whether you have developed a line of thought in connection with your cognitive emergence theory that could play into it, but she has a deadline with a publisher she is pushing up against." He pulled that one out of thin air, so he was surprised when Charlie's expression seemed to alter to suggest he might be on to something.

"You know…she did send a whole bunch of e-mails for a time exactly along those lines, but they stopped and I figured she discarded the thought. But why would she want me there for that? I mean, we were e-mailing about it…we could do that just as easy by e-mail and phone, as in person."

The profiler part of the FBI team suggested, thoughtfully. "Yeah, but think about this. Selling the concept to a publisher who may be balking would be easier if YOU were actually present to expand on the math-y parts."

"Math-y parts?" Charlie almost snorted his tea out his nose. "You mean those related to my work, I gather?"

Megan grinned. "You should see Larry's reaction when I call his shuttle stuff the Spacey parts."

Colby had wandered in amidst the discussion. "Old girlfriends, adventures in England, intrigue…what would your friends at the NSA say, Whiz Kid?"

"Probably ask him to bring home some fish and chips. Go to the right places, Charlie, the fish and chips over there are great." David remarked.

"Oh, I love well done English fish and chips! And I know lots of good places."

"No way. A really good English meal is roast beef with mushy peas and Yorkshire pudding. " Granger retorted. "Now, that is a meal!"

"You actually like mushy peas." David looked at his partner like he had gone permanently around the bend. "I mean, what's the deal. They mash a bunch of peas. How is that anything special? It's like baby food, for pity sake. "

"Just keep me away from the steak and kidney pie. Shepherd's pie though, now that is good." Colby went on.

"So," Don walked into the room mug in hand for his caffeine refill. "Treasury department guys and the folks from the US DA are going to get the bank examiners into the act. This is a really big deal you've uncovered, Charlie. Way to go. And what is this…Hell's Kitchen wanna be's. I mean you are talking in here like there is such a thing as decent English cooking. And, I'm not saying there isn't. I've been to that one pub in Burbank a few times with Charlie and Dad and I rather like the Sunday Roast Beef dinner with all the trimmings myself. Just don't mention haggis around me, man."

"Technically, haggis is a Scottish dish, Don." Charlie elaborated. "And the vegetarian version isn't bad at all."

"Yeah, well probably because it doesn't actually involve eating a cow's stomach." Don remarked. Colby and David both made faces while Megan laughed.


End file.
